Viktor Orban also participated in the Patriots for Europe meeting ahead of the summit of the Council of the European Union. Also in attendance were former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, leader of the ANO party, Geert Wilders, president of the Dutch Party for Freedom, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, president of the Lega party, Marine Le Pen, co-founder of the French National Rally and the party's group leader in the French national assembly, and Jordan Bardella, president of the Patriots for Europe group.
Before the meeting, Jordan Bardella spoke to journalists about the problem of illegal immigration, saying that no visa should be issued to nationals from a country that refuses to take back its citizens.
Migration is clearly one of the most important issues facing our peoples and our European institutions today
Jordan Bardella emphasized, adding that
this means we need to recover the control of our borders, both at European and national level, but also requires cooperation agreements with countries of origin. I am also putting pressure on my country, France, to ensure that all people who have no basis to remain on French soil can be escorted back to their country of origin under the procedure for leaving French territory, which is not being enforced today
He referred to the role of the Patriots for Europe party family - already the third largest force in the European Parliament, saying the group "is the voice of people who do not want to disappear, who want to defend their identity, who want to defend their borders and who also want to put an end to a kind of commercial naivety."
At the request of journalists, Viktor Orban summarized what can be expected at the summit of the Council of the European Union, and also said that he expects a heated debate on the Russian-Ukrainian war. At the two-day EU summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will report on developments in Russia's war against Ukraine and present his "victory plan", as Magyar Nemzet previously reported. The Hungarian prime minister also stressed the problem of illegal immigrants, saying
Many of us want to change the rules on migration, and it is unacceptable that Hungary is being penalized for defending the EU's borders. A growing number of countries are stating that there is a migration crisis.
Cover photo: Patriots for Europe EP group leaders hold meeting in Brussels (Photo: MTI/Prime Minister's Press Office/Zoltan Fischer)
